Promised Sock Pics

I've been eyeing a sock pattern for a long time. Every time I saw this pattern, I made everyone around me come and look at it. It was so pretty. But I had to buy it, and that put me off a bit, because there are just so many sock patterns out there that I wouldn't have to pay for. But I kept looking at it, and when, at tax time, the government was shocked that we could live on the declared income, and sent some money back, I knew it was time. I bought the pattern and started the socks on Mother's Day. They're the Rivendell Socks, and I love everything about them. Yes, especially the name, because it's all about the Elven forests, and that makes me think of magic, and we're all about the magic here. But the color, the leaves, the cables intertwining... *sigh* So I went to our LYS and bought some Trekking Pro Natura, a fairly pricey sock yarn, and paid for it pretty much guiltlessly, since it was Mother's Day, after all. And I cast on and spent the rest of the day working the leaves and the cables, and it was just lovely. I was actually thinking of making these for everyone I knew, because I knew I would never get bored of this pattern. Never.

Then I tried it on. And even though I'd only cast on two less stitches than my normal pattern, and even though I'd used my normal size 1 needles, the sock wouldn't go around my heel. Just stopped there, looking at me like an old boyfriend I'd asked for money. "You want what?"

Darn it. But of course while I was showing this pattern to everyone in the house, they'd all been making the appropriate oohing and aahing noises for some time. My second daughter turned her big cow eyes on me and said, "It doesn't fit? Want to try my foot?" Yeah, okay, munchkin. I think I owed you some socks, anyway. And now the older one wants socks, and isn't it only a matter of time before the four-year-old figures out what's going on?



But anyway, that's my Rivendell sock story. I cast on yesterday (Startitis? Never heard of it) for these cute little socks, from Favorite Socks by Interweave Press. These are out of Sockotta, a sock yarn I never feel guilty about buying, and it's long-wearing and has pretty, bright colors. I'm really liking these socks. But, of course, even though I cast on the proper number of stitches, with my normal size 1 needles, these socks are coming out huge. I can't figure it. I'm still knitting, though, because maybe they just look big, and they're going to come out okay. After all, I didn't have a clue the Rivendell socks were too small until I tried them on. Clearly, my instincts can't be trusted.